The Experiment
by wannabeWriter888
Summary: Adam conducts an experiment. Henry and Jo's lives are forever changed. A soon to be AU oneshot.


**Disclaimer**: I do not own _Forever_, I do not own _Forever_, I do not own _Forever_. The truth hurts. _Forever_ belongs to Matt Miller and ABC, but if I did own it, it would have a second season already.

**A/N**: This is actually how I'd write the ending for season 1, as in the very last scene before fading to black. I know its not likely to happen, but at least the idea is out there. Reviews are, as always, greatly appreciated.

_We just did an awesome job of not dying_ \- John Green

The waves from the Hudson River lapped against the pier. The moonless sky was inky black, just like the water this night. The stars were up there somewhere, hidden behind clouds and too much light pollution. The city of New York thrummed and buzzed with life despite the late hour. On the pier time crawled at a snail's pace.

Adam was at the end of the pier, the water to his back. A pale blonde man in a white shirt and jeans was sprawled against the concrete, unconscious. Almost casually, Adam kneeled next to the man and pressed the muzzle of a revolver to the man's head.

Jo cautiously inched her way towards Adam, her gun trained on the killer. Henry followed half a step behind Jo, wishing their positions were reversed. There was no time to convince her to let him go first, no time to explain. There was only time to act.

"Please, Adam! You don't have to do this!" Henry tried to reason with the other immortal.

"I'm afraid I do, Henry," Adam answered warmly, as if they were conversing over tea; "I gave you a choice. Take the life of Mr. Schmidt here or forfeit your partner. Instead you tried to outsmart me and failed."

"Drop the gun Adam or I will shoot," Jo interrupted Adam, seeing as Henry's diplomacy had gone nowhere.

She threatened Adam without knowing the truth about him. Not understanding that Adam had nothing to fear and nothing to lose. It was Henry's own fault. He'd told her just enough to ensure her help, but not the full truth for fear of her rejection. He trusted her, but not enough. Now he'd brought her into Adam's sights and had put her in danger, danger that she knew nothing about.

"Go ahead Detective Martinez," Adam laughed; "It won't make a difference."

Now Adam started to rise. He did not drop the gun, but angled it away from Mr. Schmidt who lay before him. The gun was pointed at the pier, held tight in Adam's grasp, and Henry was horrified to realize he had no idea what Adam was planning to do next.

"You failed Henry, but all is not lost. Tonight is a special night for you and me, and the perfect time for an experiment," Adam said.

BANG!

Faster than Henry thought possible, Adam had brought the revolver up and pulled the trigger. For a second, Henry though Adam had aimed at him and missed. Then Jo fell to the ground.

Blood gushed from her left shoulder, too close to her heart. Henry dropped to his knees next to her, pulling off his scarf to apply pressure to the wound.

"Stay with me Jo, stay with me," he told her, even though the doctor in him knew it was too late.

His words fell on dying ears. Jo gasped, trying to speak, but no words made it out. Her brown eyes were filled with pain and fear. Then she shuddered and was still. The light went out of her eyes.

"No, Jo!" Henry cried and moved to preform CPR, thinking with his heart.

She couldn't die. Not tonight, not like this.

"Don't Henry. You'll ruin the experiment," Adam hauled Henry away from Jo's body by the back of his coat.

"Experiment?!" Henry hollered, growing blind with fury; "You killed her!"

Henry shoved Adam away from him. Then he formed a fist to strike Adam with. But Adam was faster; he clocked Henry in the jaw and that sent the younger immortal to the ground in a daze. By the time Henry recovered and returned to his feet, Adam had already carried Jo's body to the edge of the pier.

"Stop!" Henry howled too late.

Adam dumped Jo's body into the river. There was a splash. Then Adam turned to face Henry again, a serious expression on his cold face.

"Why?" Henry asked as Adam walked towards him.

"She fit the criteria better than Mr. Schmidt," was the cryptic reply he received.

"I don't understand."

"Remember when you died for the first time Henry," Adam explained softly; "You had recently lost your father and when I died, I had just lost my daughter. We were in mourning as Detective Martinez still mourned her husband," Adam held up Jo's necklace with her husband's wedding ring still on it and offered it to Henry who took it; "You died protecting a slave, I died protecting my wife, and now the detective has died protecting you and Mr. Schmidt. We were all three killed by weapons made of halletium, a rare ore harvested from meteorites," now Adam handed Henry the weapon that had killed Jo; "And we were all three buried in moving water at night."

"You're trying to create another immortal," Henry croaked out when he could finally find his voice again.

"Yes," Adam nodded with a pleased smile; "By understanding how we came to be this way, I hope to unlick the answer of how we can end our lives once and for all."

"And if Jo doesn't come back?"

"Then I suppose I will have to conduct more experiments," Adam shrugged without remorse; "Be a good chap and wait here until dawn. The first death is likely to be the longest."

Then Adam strolled away, off into the city of New York to cause more mayhem whenever it suited him. Henry walked to the end of the pier, sat down on the edge, and waited.

He didn't believe Adam. He couldn't. He knew he had to accept Jo was gone, but not yet. So he waited through the night.

Mr. Schmidt woke up groggy and confused. Henry offered no explanations. He simply pointed the man in the direction of the nearest hospital and suggested he get looked at. Mr. Schmidt stumbled off. Dawn was still hours away.

The hours crept by slowly, more slowly than Henry had thought possible in all of his two hundred-some years. The night was chilly and Henry wished for his scarf, but he couldn't put it on. It was still covered in Jo's blood, lying on the ground where she'd died – her gun lay nearby. There was more of her blood on Henry, on his hands and his shirt and his coat. He had no water to scrub it away with so he examined it instead.

He was filled with regret. Over the lies he had told and the secrets he'd kept from Jo. Mostly he regretted the life Jo would never get to have. A husband, children, and a chance to grow old; to die loved and surrounded by those that loved her.

Dawn broke across the horizon. The sun splashed gold, red, and violet streaks across the sky, creating a beautiful backdrop against the New York skyline. Henry looked out across the Hudson River and his breath caught in his throat.

Bubbles rose to the surface of the river a couple yards out from the pier. Ripples spread outward as something pushed towards the surface. The Jo broke the surface of the river, arms churning, and she gasped.


End file.
